Capture of Beirut

The Capture of Beirut (late April 1799) was a battle of the Egyptian Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. In April 1799, a 1,489-strong French army under General Jean-Baptiste Kleber was landed on the coast of Lebanon by Admiral Maurice Bossuet, leaving the recently-acquired French base on Cyprus. The French took the Ottomans by surpprise, facing a 720-strong garrison under Istani Vefik. The French sent envoys to the city to negotiate surrender terms, and the Ottoman garrison decided to capitulate peacefully rather than waste any lives. The capture of Beirut secured the French supply lines in preparation for the campaign to conquer Damascus.